Summary
- Ethiopian Airlines is increasing its flights between Addis Ababa and Seoul, using the latest Airbus A350 aircraft.
- This expansion reflects the airline's continued growth and commitment to connecting Africa with global economic and financial hubs.
- The increased flight frequency and larger capacity of the A350 will cater to the growing demand for air travel between Africa and South Korea, with seat capacity on the route back to pre-pandemic levels.
After ten years of connecting East Africa with the Republic of Korea, Ethiopian Airlines (ET) is scaling up its frequency between Addis Ababa Bole International Airport (ADD) and Seoul Incheon Airport (ICN) to six weekly flights, starting on October 28. The carrier will also deploy its latest Airbus A350 aircraft on the route.
Seoulmates: Ethiopia and Korea
Ethiopian Airlines will increase its Seoul service following constructive discussions between the civil aviation authorities of both nations. The move is expected to boost socio-economic exchanges and the growing multi-faceted partnership between Korea and Africa. Ethiopian Airlines Group CEO Ato Mesfin Tasew said;
"Ethiopian is the only African carrier connecting Seoul to the continent and beyond, and the additional frequencies will be significant in fostering economic, cultural, and social interactions providing more diverse and convenient connectivity options to travelers. As a pan-African carrier, it gives us pleasure to give additional flight options between Addis Ababa, the diplomatic capital of Africa, and Seoul, the rising hub of East Asia."
The carrier operates five weekly flights from ADD to ICN on Sundays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays with the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. After a stop at ICN, ET continues to NRT before returning to ADD via ICN. The new schedule will include an additional flight on Wednesday with the Airbus A350-900. Ato Mesfin Tasew added;
"We are especially thrilled by the opportunity to serve our esteemed passengers with the latest Airbus A350-900 modern aircraft. I take this occasion to sincerely express my gratitude to the Government of the Republic of Korea for supporting Ethiopian in enhancing its flight frequencies."
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Seoul service: 10 years on
This year, Ethiopia's flag carrier celebrated ten years of flying to Seoul and will increase the flight frequency to recognize this significant milestone. Seoul was the 73rd destination to be added to ET's network, and since then, the airline has added over 55 new destinations.
When the route was launched on June 18, 2013, ET had the vision of connecting Seoul to several cities in Africa via Addis Ababa, including Johannesburg, Nairobi, Lagos, Accra, and Dar es Salaam, to mention a few. Furthermore, it was part of the airline's plans to connect Africa with the world's major economic and financial hubs by 2025.
The expanded schedule will accommodate the growing demand for air travel between Africa and South Korea. ET has 22 flights and 5,985 seats on the ADD-ICN route this month, a 40.8% increase from August 2022, when it had 13 flights and 3,555 seats. In August 2019, it had 22 flights and 5,981 seats, showing that capacity has virtually recovered to pre-pandemic levels.
Flying the A350
In addition to more flights per week, ET will increase the number of seats per flight by 33 as it replaces the Dreamliner with the A350. Its B787-9 has a capacity of 315 seats, with 285 in economy class and 30 in business class (Cloud Nine). On the other hand, its A350 has 348 seats, with 318 in economy and 30 in business class.
Given the efficiency of the Airbus aircraft, Ethiopian Airlines is deploying it on several new and current routes, including London Gatwick, Madrid, and São Paulo. ET received its first A350-900 in 2016 and now operates 20, with an average age of 4.3 years. It also has an order for four A350-1000s, expected to arrive in 2024 and 2025.
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